Movie in a Bar Mirror

Recess, NYC

March, 2015

Image of Cryin' Time bar and bartender, 2015

In collaboration with PKworryshop and other artists, Masami Kubo directed a short video, I'll Have You're Drink of Choice, presented as part of PKworryshop's residency with Recess’s signature program, Session. Over the course of their Session, titled Movie in a Bar Mirror, the artists explored the multiplicity of emotions produced within the cinematic trope of the “sad bar”.

The artists transformed the space into Cryin’ Time, a monochromatic bar designed as the set for various short videos. The script for I'll Have You're Drink of Choice was written by Olivia Ahn, and cinematography and editing was done by Masami Kubo. The video features a classic noir setting, composed with lighting cut through blinds and shots dissecting characters and their features, alienating their bodily desires from their identity. The protagonist shares a drink and an intimate encounter with each patron, a kiss, ranging from chaste, or hostile, to apathetic. Through the use of projections, live music, and recorded performances, the space was transformed into a “cinematic sadness machine,” reproducing the various climatic emotions of the “sad bar”.

Installation view of the Cryin' Time bar and Mirroscope, 2015

On set during the filming of I'll Have Your Drink of Choice, 2015

Still from I'll Have Your Drink of Choice, 2015

Cryin' Time bar band plays live during opening night of Movie in a Bar Mirror, 2015